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Don't Lose Your Head LbNA #58173

Owner:Kelsung
Plant date:Jun 5, 2011
Location: Bronson Canyon Park
City:Hollywood
County:Los Angeles
State:California
Boxes:5
Found by: AandB (6)
Last found:Jun 26, 2011
Status:F
Last edited:Mar 29, 2024
Don't Lose Your Head: The Mission To Recover The Data Recovery Mission

Q originally planted The Data Recovery Mission series in May, 2004, consisting of six stamps that assembled into a single image. Some boxes went missing and were replaced, but she eventually became frustrated maintaining it and retired the series in May, 2007, noting in the clues that their status was unknown.

In July, 2010, a group of us decided to see if any of the boxes still survived. We searched diligently for each one to no avail, until we reached the end and were ecstatic to find the final box, the head, still in place. After the hike, Summerfun and MrOspital suggested replacing the rest of the series to draw attention to a retired and forgotten box that was actually still active. I volunteered to do the planting if the others did the carving. Summerfun actually had the entire original image in her logbook from years before, so we scanned it and recarved the stamps to match Q's original images. MrOspital took the torso, TAKee the arms and Summerfun the legs. I emailed Q our intentions and she responded sometime later, honored that we cared about her old boxes and giving her blessing.

We tried to replant in the same or close to the original locations, compensating for lost trees and avoiding high traffic landmarks, and we tried to use as much of Q's original clues as possible. The first half of this is a moderate to strenuous uphill hike, but you are then rewarded with a level second half with a shady picnic area. It is around 1.8 miles to the last box, for a total of around 3.6 miles round trip, and the return is all downhill.

Note: some of these clues have updates from 2024.




In the film "Star Trek: Nemesis", Commander Data of Starfleet sacrificed his own existence to save the crew of the Enterprise from a Thalaron beam generator, which would have killed them all. Though he never was biologically alive, it is believed that he was killed when the beam generator exploded. Sensors indicate, however, that six separate positronic signatures have been detected in the Bronson Canyon nebula. Since positronic signatures only come from androids, chances are this could be Commander Data, and he may need your help. Seek out all six signatures to make him whole again.

A scan of the planet indicates an arid, hot climate necessitating plenty of drinking water and sunscreen. Canines are abundant and equines have been sighted. The area cautions of rattlesnakes. High noon is not the best time to conduct the recovery mission. The journey could take 2-3 hours to complete, as the trail is all uphill in and downhill out. And I do mean uphill. But you can do it. We're counting on you.

Exit the 101 wormhole at Hollywood Blvd and head west to Bronson, which is the next light. Head north on Bronson and follow it past Franklin to the first stop sign. Turn left on Canyon Dr. and follow this all the way to the gates of the Bronson Canyon nebula. Enter the gates and drive all the way to the end, to a parking lot on the left. If this lot is full park in the lot you saw back on the right. Follow the road you drove in on through the pedestrian gate with the cement poles that say "Park Boundary".

Signature #1 (alive and well as of 3/28/24)

Enter the park and follow the trail straight ahead and up the hill, past the gate that is sometimes open. On the right you will see a cement flood channel painted with a green dragon. Soon you will come to a bridge over a small creek (sometimes this is dry). Before you cross the bridge, jump down to the creek edge. Follow the small trail a few steps to the right to a two-trunked tree. On the rear side of the right trunk, buried in leaves, is a large fake rock containing the first signature. (Remember to leave two inches of space above this stamp when stamping in!)

Signature #2 (replaced 6/28/14, retired as of 03/28/24)

Climb back up to the bridge and continue up the hill on the path. You will pass a grassy clearing on your right and soon a neat little waterfall on your right. Curve left to start climbing uphill and look for the first large boulder on the left. Continue 65 steps to a small boulder on the right, then continue 45 steps and look in gap below largest boulder for fake rock with the second signature. (Update: there are several more boulders that slid down the hillside over the years, and the both the box and its bonus are gone).

Signature #3 (retired as of 6/28/14)

You'll pass the "Giving Tree" where #2 was originally planted, but came up missing several times. From here to the next signature is a long stretch and I "Don't Think" there is anything else in between. Continue up past a sharp left curve. When you reach another sharp left with a large dry pool off to the right, keep an eye out for a small hill to the left. On the far side of the hill take the small footpath up off the trail. Before the tree at the top, look under rocks at the base of the bush on the left for the third signature.

Signature #4 (retired as of 3/28/24)

Continue to the top and take the fork to the right, dodging the horse dung. At the paved road (only park rangers and city workers occasionally drive on this road) go straight across the street to hydrant 23 and then go right 23 steps to several small trunks on the hillside. Look behind the large rock within for the fourth signature. (Update: although this is gone, its bonus is still there).

Signature #5 (alive and well as of 3/28/24, last find from a surprised geocacher in 2018)

Turn right on the paved road from the dirt path that got you there and follow the first curving guardrail. At the crescent moon-shaped picnic area, which is shady and pleasant, find the large stump along the edge of the embankment which is across from the restrained logs. Climb down in front of the stump and look under the large root that juts off the side of the hill. Under bark and rocks is the fifth signature.

Signature #6 (alive and well as of 1/3/16)

Continue past the picnic area and follow a cement wall to the right. This large path overlooks the canyon. Count 30 steps down and to the right. Turn around and see a rock with a crevice underneath. From above, this rock will look like a thorny shrub. Under some smaller rocks in the crevice is the sixth and final signature. This was Q's replacement of the original and it has been here since 2005. (Update: so I did the whole hike up here for the fourth time, and all the landmarks were still fairly familiar until I got here. I honestly couldn't work out the correct location from the clues nor my memory, the rock with the crevice just eluded me. It was getting late and I had a long hike back, but I'm not willing to retire this yet.)

Notes:

These six stamps when put together properly will create an image of Data. The overall image measures eight inches tall by three inches wide. For the head to fit above the torso, allow two inches of space above it. The left and right arms and legs refer to the left and right of the image, not Data's left and right.

This is a very uphill hike, but if you are ready to quit by #3 please keep going. The last three aren't too far away, they are all close to each other and the hike to them is level. At the top you can look across to the cell towers on Mt Lee and have a sideways view of the Hollywood sign. Exit back down the way you came in.